Lunch and Learn with Don Hays- Firearms Restraining orders/ Karina's law

Karina's Law

Karina's Law is a significant piece of legislation in Illinois aimed at enhancing protections for domestic violence survivors by ensuring the prompt removal of firearms from alleged abusers.

Background

The law is named in memory of Karina Gonzalez, who, along with her 15-year-old daughter Daniela, was tragically killed in July 2023 by her husband, despite having secured an order of protection against him. This incident highlighted critical gaps in the enforcement of firearm removal in domestic violence cases.

Key Provisions

Signed into law by Governor J.B. Pritzker in February 2025, Karina's Law (House Bill 4144) mandates:

Firearms Restraining Orders

• On January 1, 2019, Public Act 100-0607 created the Illinois Firearms Restraining Order Act. That Act provided that a petitioner may request an emergency lethal violence order of protection by filing an affidavit or verified pleading alleging that the possessor of a firearm poses an immediate and present danger of causing personal injury to himself, herself, or another by having in his or her custody or control, owning, purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm.